NHL Power Rankings: B/R Experts' Week 14 Poll
It’s been an eventful three weeks since we last updated the NHL power rankings here at Bleacher Report, but with the holidays behind us, our panel of hockey writers reconvened to take a look around the league.
The timing is excellent. The Columbus Blue Jackets were dominant over the interim, pushing their franchise-record winning streak to 16 games but came back to earth this week with a pair of losses. The end of that run has reopened the conversation as to which team is the best in the league, though with one or two possible exceptions, that discussion is largely confined to the murderer’s row at the top of the Metropolitan Division.
It isn’t just at the top that there’s serious debate over which team is best. Playoff battles are starting to come into focus around the league as we enter the back half of the year. For teams on the cusp of a postseason berth, every week matters.
In the East, there are around seven teams competing for three playoff spots, with just four clubs inhabiting the conference basement. In the West, two teams are out of the race, and every other club can make an argument that it has a shot at the postseason.
Our usual voters have chimed in to sort these closely ranked teams. Adrian Dater, Allan Mitchell, Lyle Richardson, Carol Schram and yours truly all registered our votes for a composite view of the league.
Read on to see where your team stands in the ever-shifting NHL landscape.
30-26: Colorado Avalanche-New Jersey Devils
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30. Colorado Avalanche (last week: 30)
Cody McLeod has a unique distinction among Colorado Avalanche skaters: He is the only player on the roster to have a) played in more than six of the team’s last 10 games and b) bear a positive plus/minus rating (zero). The point here is not to make a lion out of McLeod (the usual caveats about plus/minus apply) but rather to show that Colorado doesn’t have one line or defence pairing consistently capable of outscoring the opposition.
29. Arizona Coyotes (last week: 29)
For a little while, the Arizona Coyotes were kind of treading water, at least when Mike Smith was in net. Over the veteran goaltender's first 16 starts of the year, Arizona went 7-5-4, thanks in large part to his .932 save percentage over that run. Smith has posted a .885 save percentage over his past eight starts, during which time the Yotes have gone 0-7-1. They might even be worse than Colorado.
28. Buffalo Sabres (last week: 23)
The Buffalo Sabres enjoyed a solid week, going 2-0-1 in the new year, with the lone loss coming in Chicago against the Blackhawks. It’s a welcome change from late December, when the club closed out 2016 with six losses in seven games, with its lone win coming by a single goal over the hapless Detroit Red Wings. Ryan O’Reilly being back in the lineup has helped; he has four points in two games since his return.
27. Detroit Red Wings (last week: 25)
Detroit is a mess right now. The Red Wings did pick up a regulation win this week, which was good—in December, they didn’t get their first regulation win until the 17th, and that was their only one that month—but losing the other three games they played was bad. Anthony Mantha had six points on the week, though, continuing his run of delivering good news to a franchise in dire need of it.
26. New Jersey Devils (last week: 28)
Maybe the most important bit of good news for the New Jersey Devils this week came in the play of goaltender Cory Schneider. Outside of a quick pull in a game against the Toronto Maple Leafs, Schneider was brilliant, allowing just three goals on 95 shots in his other three starts. It has been a tough year for the Devils starter, and the team can’t afford for him to be anything other than heroic. This week, he mostly was, and New Jersey went 2-1-1 as a result.
25-21: New York Islanders-Tampa Bay Lightning
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25. New York Islanders (last week: 26)
The New York Islanders came off a five-day break with a pair of back-to-back road games on Friday and Saturday. The good news was that those games were against Colorado and Arizona, the two worst clubs in the NHL; the bad news is the Isles managed to lose both contests, scoring just two goals in the process. The Nick Leddy-Travis Hamonic pairing was particularly bad, with the Isles getting outchanced 18-8 over the two games with Leddy on the ice.
24. Winnipeg Jets (last week: 24)
The new year was looking up for the Winnipeg Jets, with two wins in two games, when pretty much the worst thing possible happened. In Saturday’s game against the Sabres, rookie winger Patrik Laine took a high and legal check from Buffalo defenceman Jake McCabe. NHL.com’s Tim Campbell writes that Laine has been diagnosed with a concussion and is out indefinitely. Against the loss of that player, the loss of the game Saturday is of minor import.
23. Dallas Stars (last week: 21)
A lot of teams at the bottom of these rankings must have been happy to put 2016 behind them, but the Dallas Stars were on a bit of a roll to close out the year. Then they played just one game (an overtime loss to the Montreal Canadiens) in the first six days of 2017. Saturday’s loss to the St. Louis Blues was the first contest in a run that will see them play nine times in 15 days, with six of those games coming on the road. With that kind of schedule, it’s going to be tough to keep that little bit of momentum the team had building.
22. Carolina Hurricanes (last week: 16)
The Carolina Hurricanes entered the Christmas break having won three straight but have since lost four of their last seven games. That’s not quite as poor a performance as it seems given what the schedule looked like over that span. Things don’t get easier from here, though, with five of Carolina’s next seven games featuring one of the Columbus Blue Jackets, Washington Capitals and Pittsburgh Penguins. That’s problematic, given that the Canes need to make up some ground to gain a wild-card slot in the East.
21. Tampa Bay Lightning (last week: 17)
The Tampa Bay Lightning have been smashed by injuries, and perhaps that’s why they’ve been such a bad team lately. With Sunday’s 6-2 loss to the Penguins, the Bolts have fallen to a wretched 7-13-3 over their last 23 contests, losing more than two games for every victory over that span. The ragged remnants of the roster are playing like a draft lottery team despite the best efforts of Victor Hedman and a few other mainstays.
20-16: Nashville Predators-Philadelphia Flyers
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20. Nashville Predators (last week: 18)
The Nashville Predators aren’t out of the playoff race yet, but they haven’t helped matters with their play since Christmas. Nashville has just two wins in seven games since December 25, and it’s vital that the team takes advantage of an upcoming stretch of games in which the opponents—the Vancouver Canucks, Boston Bruins and Colorado—are a little less intimidating. Mike Ribeiro, Craig Smith and Colin Wilson are all cold, while slumping winger James Neal was just put on injured reserve, per NBC’s James O’Brien.
19. Florida Panthers (last week: 22)
The Florida Panthers' salvation and their curse in December was overtime/shootout losses. Eight times the Panthers went past regulation, and six times they lost. The benefit to keeping all those games close was that even in defeat the team picked up a point, but a 2-6 record in post-regulation situations meant that Florida came away with far fewer two-point outings than might have been expected. The trouble was a lot of those games were at home. The team's forthcoming schedule has a ton of road games, and collecting points is going to be even more difficult.
18. Ottawa Senators (last week: 13)
The Ottawa Senators went into the holidays having won four straight games. They came out of them and promptly dropped their next four. The losing came to an end on Sunday in a game in which they were outshot 38-17 by the Edmonton Oilers but still managed to slide four past Jonas Gustavsson in what was a close-run thing. Mark Stone had three points in the win and, after a slow start, has 23 points in his last 21 contests.
17. Vancouver Canucks (last week: 27)
The Canucks came out of the Christmas break and did themselves a world of good in the standings, winning six consecutive contests before losing on Saturday. Our panel may have overreacted with a jump this large, though—not only did Vancouver had a soft schedule, but it also won games in which it was outshot 44-32, 37-20 and by a whopping 46-13 margin in Friday’s victory over the Calgary Flames. This stretch looks a lot more like a dead cat bounce than it does a club turning the corner.
16. Philadelphia Flyers (last week: 7)
Remember back in mid-December, when the Philadelphia Flyers won 10 games in a row? Things have not gone so well since. An overtime loss to Columbus on Sunday dropped Philadelphia to 2-7-1 in the 10 contests since their streak ended. Now a .500 team (21-15-6), Philly sits in the final wild-card slot in the East and needs to find a way out of its tailspin lest it drop further.
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15-11: Boston Bruins-St. Louis Blues
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15. Boston Bruins (last week: 15)
Thank goodness for that back-to-back set against Buffalo. Aside from those two wins, the Boston Bruins have lost four of five since Christmas, including three of their last four games. The team’s second place position in the Atlantic is precarious, particularly since no other NHL club has played more games than Boston's 43. It’s going to be worth watching the workload of starter Tuukka Rask (32 games, 20-9-3 record, .928 save percentage). With backup Anton Khudobin waived and demoted and replacement Zane McIntyre unimpressive again on Sunday, the team may have no choice but to ride its starter if it hopes to retain its playoff position.
14. Los Angeles Kings (last week: 14)
The Los Angeles Kings are a puzzling team. In their last four outings they have a win over the Minnesota Wild and two over divisional rivals the San Jose Sharks. Yet on Thursday, they got beat 4-0 by the Detroit Red Wings. They’re in the midst of a seven-game home stand, with five games left on the slate; this represents a great opportunity for a team on the playoff bubble to push its way up the standings.
13. Calgary Flames (last week: 19)
The Flames have had a pretty soft schedule over the past couple of weeks, playing seven of their last nine games against one of Colorado, Arizona or Vancouver. Mostly, they’ve done well with it, winning six (they also outshot the Canucks 46-13 in the lone loss, so that’s a hard one to fault). Now things get tough again, with 10 contests in just 18 days and more formidable opponents. With Calgary on the playoff bubble, a relatively small slip could be fatal to the club’s postseason hopes.
12. Toronto Maple Leafs (last week: 20)
The Toronto Maple Leafs put together their best run of the season starting in mid-December, winning five straight contests (including a perfect 4-0 road trip). The streak ended with an overtime loss to the Washington Capitals on Tuesday, but even so, the Leafs have dramatically improved their position in the standings. They sit just three points back of second place in the Atlantic Division, with four games in hand on the Bruins.
11. St. Louis Blues (last week: 10)
December was a month to forget for the St. Louis Blues, as the team went 6-6-2 and fell well back of Central Division leaders Chicago and Minnesota. Wins over the Blackhawks and Stars to start January were a good way to turn the page, though, and St. Louis still has the advantage of a significant lead on Nashville for third place in the division. Improved goaltending would go a long way—starter Jake Allen has a .904 save percentage while backup Carter Hutton is stuck at .890.
10. Edmonton Oilers
5 of 14
Record: 21-14-7, 49 points
Last week: 12
Big Picture
After a great start to the year, the Edmonton Oilers have blown hot and cold. Right now, they’re somewhere in between, with three wins and three losses since Christmas. They have enough of a buffer on the teams below them that .500 play or even a little less should get them to the postseason, but with only one point separating them from the division-leading Sharks, there’s no reason to settle for that.
By the Numbers
After stalling a little in December, Connor McDavid has new linemates and five points in his last three games. He’s four points clear of both Sidney Crosby and Patrick Kane for first in the NHL scoring race. Left wing Patrick Maroon has five goals and 13 shots since displacing Milan Lucic alongside McDavid.
9. Anaheim Ducks
6 of 14
Record: 21-13-8, 50 points
Last week: 11
Big Picture
The Anaheim Ducks’ three-game winning streak was cut short by a 2-1 loss to former coach Bruce Boudreau and the Minnesota Wild. The loss prevented Anaheim from leap-frogging San Jose for first place in the Pacific Division. Like the Oilers, the Ducks have enough of a safety margin that even mediocre play over the back half of the year should get them to the playoffs, but there’s also an opportunity here to start the postseason in a much more favourable position.
By the Numbers
Ryan Kesler scored the Ducks' only goal against the Wild and played just under 21 minutes in the game. He’s been an offensive threat all season while playing a ton just about every night. If it continues, his current average of 21:57 per game will be a career-high total—not something one generally sees from a 32-year-old.
8. Chicago Blackhawks
7 of 14
Record: 26-12-5, 57 points
Last week: 8
Big Picture
The Hawks have had some ups and downs since we last checked in on them, but on balance, not much has changed. The team’s current three-game win streak has them two points up on Minnesota in the Central, but the Wild have played four fewer games. At this point, the division is a race between those two teams.
By the Numbers
Ryan Hartman had the first three-point game of his career on Sunday, recording a natural hat-trick to help Chicago defeat the Predators. He has eight points in his last 10 games, which represents pretty good production from a player who didn’t hit the 40-point mark in two previous AHL seasons. Perhaps just as important to his NHL career, he has only 14 penalty minutes through 38 games after hitting the 120-mark over the past two minor league campaigns.
7. San Jose Sharks
8 of 14
Record: 24-14-2, 50 points
Last week: 6
Big Picture
San Jose may not be running away with the Pacific Division pointswise, but the Sharks are clearly the best team by wins and losses. In a division in which no other club is more than two games north of .500, the men in teal have won eight more contests than they have lost. Nevertheless, it’s points rather than wins that determine the standings, so where the club finishes is still in doubt.
By the Numbers
One interesting little wrinkle with the Sharks is with regard to shot prevention. San Jose has been brilliant at it all season (at 5-on-5, only the Kings allow fewer shots against per hour played), but we’re starting to see some cracks. Prior to Christmas, San Jose had not surrendered 35 shots in a single game. Since Christmas, they’ve allowed at least 35 shots against in three of six games played.
Score effects is part of that—in all three games, the Sharks had long stretches with the lead, which generally leads to an increase in opposition shot totals. At the individual level, Justin Braun is worth singling out as a player who has seen shots against spike when he’s on the ice, with a nearly 20 percent increase over the last 10 games for him in that department.
6. Minnesota Wild
9 of 14
Record: 25-9-5, 55 points
Last week: 4
Big Picture
The Wild's slip in these rankings has less to do with them than it does with the performance of some other teams on this list. Although it’s true that Minnesota has two wins and two losses in its last four games, the Wild won 12 in a row preceding this little speed bump. They’ve gained on Chicago and, taking games played into consideration, should probably be considered the favourite to win the Central.
By the Numbers
It’s hard to find the words to describe Eric Staal’s performance this season, particularly after he last season failed to hit the 40-point mark for the first time since his rookie year, 2003-04. He’s already closed to within five points of last season’s performance. With 19 points in his last 16 games, he was arguably the key offensive catalyst for Minny’s winning streak.
5. New York Rangers
10 of 14
Record: 28-13-1, 57 points
Last week: 3
Big Picture
New York has won five of its six games since Christmas, including a pivotal matchup against the Blue Jackets on Saturday. That has allowed the Rangers to keep their place near the top of the uber-competitive Metropolitan Division. It’s been a good season so far, with the team collecting two wins for every loss, but things are so tight in the Met that finishing anywhere between first and fourth is realistic, with a lower finish in that range perhaps probable.
By the Numbers
The Rangers’ wins have come despite some iffy goaltending from the usually solid duo of Henrik Lundqvist and Antti Raanta. That’s because the club has been able to outscore any of its defensive problems, scoring at least four goals in five of the six games it has played since Christmas. Eight different skaters on the team have eight points or more over their last 10 contests.
4. Montreal Canadiens
11 of 14
Record: 25-9-6, 56 points
Last week: 5
Big Picture
Life is good for the Canadiens, who have been the only consistently victorious team in the Atlantic Division. With a hefty lead on a pack of teams fighting for second place, the Habs can be reasonably confident of starting the playoffs with home ice and have even managed to avoid overworking franchise goaltender Carey Price.
By the Numbers
One of the biggest positive surprises for Montreal this season has been the play of former Blackhawks first-rounder Phillip Danault. Known more as a defensive specialist, Danault is on pace to record 39 points this season. That would be the high-water mark of his four-season pro career. His previous career best came in 2014-15, when he managed 38 points for the Rockford IceHogs of the AHL.
3. Columbus Blue Jackets
12 of 14
Record: 28-7-4, 60 points
Last week: 1
Big Picture
There was a lesson for Columbus in Sunday’s opponent. Philadelphia won just 10 rather than 16 straight games but has been in free fall lately, with the Jackets’ overtime win representing the Flyers’ eighth loss in the 10 contests since their streak ended. Columbus dropped two in a row after their franchise-record 16-game run, and the trick is to get back to winning hockey.
By the Numbers
Nick Foligno scored the overtime winner against the Flyers, his 14th goal of the season. He has 35 points in 37 games this season, just two shy of last year's point total. Foligno’s career year in 2014-15 seemed to come out of nowhere, and after last season’s collapse, it was fair to ask whether he could duplicate it. So far, so good. The Jackets' revitalized power play has helped too; he fell from 11 power-play goals two years ago to zero last season but has seven at the halfway point of this campaign.
2. Washington Capitals
13 of 14
Record: 25-9-5, 55 points
Last week: 9
Big Picture
It’s been a great week for the Washington Capitals. Not only have they won five straight games, but on Thursday, they hosted a Blue Jackets team that had won 16 in a row and blew them out of the water in a 5-0 shutout victory. The win was all the more important because the Caps are now only five points back of Columbus for first place in the Metropolitan Division.
By the Numbers
Justin Williams is no longer having a difficult season. After putting up just four points in his first 23 games this year, the right wing has 16 points in 16 contests and is once again in line with what we’ve come to expect from him in terms of production.
Perhaps most interestingly of all, his shot rate has barely moved. After scoring just twice on his first 52 shots of the year (3.8 shooting percentage), he has nine goals on his last 32 shots (28.1 shooting percentage). A sevenfold increase in shooting percentage is the sort of thing that puts a slump rapidly in the rearview mirror.
1. Pittsburgh Penguins
14 of 14
Record: 26-8-5, 57 points
Last week: 2
Big Picture
The Pittsburgh Penguins won four in a row to close out 2016, then took the first week of 2017 off. They were back in action Sunday and picked up where they had left off, crushing Tampa Bay by a 6-2 margin. Like the other three top teams in the Met, Pittsburgh is tremendously talented and in a fierce fight for first overall in both the division and the league.
By the Numbers
Sidney Crosby picked up two points in Sunday’s win and in so doing leapfrogged teammate Evgeni Malkin for second place in the NHL scoring race. Phil Kessel, who is also in the mix, fell to four points back of Crosby but is still inside the top 10 leaguewide. Pittsburgh’s big three are head and shoulders above the rest of the team, with a 14-point gap separating Kessel from the fourth-ranked Justin Schultz.
Statistics used here courtesy of Hockey-Reference.com, Puck On Net, stats.hockeyanalysis.com and the NHL.
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